Thursday, May 7, 2009

This is a very nerve wracking time of year. The vines are beginning to burst into life, the weather is not predictably done with the freezing thing and the dry spring winds create a gigantic fire danger. Saturday Ann Roncone called to see if the smoke was anywhere near us. She was at the Vaughn Loop vineyard (Lightning Ridge Cellars) and could see smoke just to the East of our vineyard. A blistering Westerly wind with gusts up to 40mph fanned a small plume of smoke into a grass fire that quickly roared to the East up the slope of the Mustang Mountains. Fortunately the exact direction away from our vineyard, and our neighbors, but threatening to a couple homes and the surrounding country side. Sadly Todd and Kelly Bostock's home was right in the path. Fortunately they weren't home and were thus safe as was their adobe home, but unfortunately their truck, greenhouse and surrounding landscaping were destroyed. It took that entire day and the next for the firefighters to control the blaze, mostly by dropping fire retardant along wide swaths of grassland thus containing the advancing edge of the fire. Masterful work, but an absolutely awe some sight as flames leapt 30-40 feet in to the air. This is a very nerve wracking time of year.